Hugo

Martin Scorsese returns with an ode to cinema with "Hugo", a film set in Paris around the 1930s (going by the reference to the war, which I took to be WWI,), featuring a boy named Hugo who keeps the clocks going in the train station after being taken in by his uncle upon his father's untimely demise. But Hugo's father sparked Hugo's mechanical aptitude, and also left him with an automaton, which would offer Hugo a secret that would change the lives of the characters in the film. I'm glad I didn't know much about the film going into it, and I'm not going to say much more about the plot, just know it's an engaging, heartfelt, film, though it might run just a smidge long in spots, nothing too objectionable. It's a film that has a timeless, classic, feel to it, and could end up being holiday viewing for families for years to come.

This film was shot in 3D, and Scorsese uses the cameras as another character with the many intresting tracking shots, and inventiveness in embracing 3D filmmaking. But Scorsese knows when to go flashy with 3D, and when to rein it in. I think it's worth seeing in 3D if you're so inclined.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.